Well I’m back in Nyanga and working away. The soil samples came back!!!!!! I have the results after what seems like months it’s done and I am now drawing the structural plans of the building. I’m going to say that again I am now drawing the structural plans of the building! I love that I am drawing, getting back to what I’m good at and what I know. Even though I am doing manual drawing, which I love anyways, it’s calming for me, I pop in a movie, turn on the computer, sit down and just draft away. I was up until midnight drawing and I didn’t even notice the time, I was just in heaven. It’s just soothing and relaxing. I forgotten about my drawings because I have been working in all the other aspects, making sure this person had the right information and that person was doing his job and reading and researching about plumbing and electrical and the latest in HVAC systems so that I understood what was going on when I talked to them and could ask questions. There is a reason that contractors are in the 30’s or 40’s and not their 20’s. By that stage of their career they know these things so they can do what needs to be done. I’ve learnt so much and I love it but I had forgotten that I also had drawings and calculations of my own to do. When it comes to my job I am a perfectionist, I want everything to be right and perfect and everyone to be the same. My roommate also tells me I am a workaholic and it makes her look bad (I think she works just has hard as I do) but the thing is I never seem to be caught up I seem to always be a few steps behind, I thought things in Africa happen slower, maybe it’s just me. Anyways I am back in Nyanga for a while which means less interruptions so this is good.

This business of soil testing has been a HUGE headache. First off I went to the Agricultural Lab, they said no they didn’t do construction soil testing try Soil Labs. Soil Labs doesn’t exist anymore so I went to the Ministry of Agriculture to find out if they knew, they suggested the Chemical and Mechanical Soil Testing then they sent me to I went to Engineering Soil Analysis Lab and they sent me to SIRDC. SIRDC does all sorts of things, they are a government facility that does Environmental, Agriculture, Construction and the list goes on. The gentleman I met with there said they could do the work and showed me the package, he said he’d have to get a quote and let me know. I was so excited I has spent over 2 days and had drove all over the city and FINALLY someone could do the work. He called me a few hours later and… it was going to cost the earth for 3 tests and I thought, “Are you NUTS?” So back to the drawing board, I went back to the building code and thought there has to be another way and I noticed a table, which had soil classification and the load that the soil can carry for each class. I talked to a farmer friend who also does minor construction and he gave me the name of a lab, that if I gave them the table with the classifications and asked them to test the soil and classify it, they would do it for a whopping $20/sample of a kg. This was music to my ears, I was so excited and happy and thought about time!!!! So they are going to test my soil and have the results back to me in 5 days!!!!

An NGO called SODIS has a method of purifying water. The basics of this system are using the suns UV rays to purify the water. It takes about 8 to 12 hours. Apparently they have an office here in Zimbabwe where 3 million people in rural areas are using this system. I have yet to find this office or anyone who has heard of SODIS, but the upside is I found the brochure online with pictures of how the system works and how to implement the system. I had the brochure translated into Shona and made 54 copies for the families at the AIDS clinic who are in a high-density rural area and get water-purifying tablets from the clinic. They tablets are donated but they have a chlorine taste, which the Shona aren’t fond of and at some point someone pays for it, this system is way better and they don’t have to worry about the taste. So the clinic is July 3 so we’ll try it out and see how it goes. The concern we have is that during winter (right now) there isn’t enough sun to do the job, so I’m trying to find the Harare office of SODIS and find out what they do during this time of year. We are also looking at a large-scale system to put this in the library. So stay tuned for an update.

HAPPY CANADA DAY FROM AFRICA!!!

Well the last week or 2 has been busy, frustrating, exciting and difficult. It began with a trip to Harare where on the way I met with the high school drafting teacher to collect the architectural drawings. The next morning we had the drawings blueprinted and I started my hunt for a soil-testing lab and to find a place where I could acquire the rest of the construction codes. I went and met with some Mechanical Engineering students, and we talked about how they could be included in the project; how their electromagnetic mechanical system could be paired with an HVAC system and creating a solar water heater. During this discussion I met with their dean, who told me he had a teaching vacancy for 2-second year classes if I was interested. I wrote a list of questions for the students to find the answers to about their system and the capabilities of their system and told them we’d meet again in a week to see what they had come up with and what we would be able to do. I took my car in to have the bits and pieces fixed that couldn’t be fixed in Zambia, what I thought would be a day or repairs turned into 3! I met with the Electrical Engineer, who helped me, design an electrical system based on the Solar Aid equipment and specifications. I then planned my trip to Zambia. Due to time constraints and to just make my life easier, I flew. It’s an hour flight each way, which is much nicer than the 8 hours and the border is simple, just a form, a stamp and a fee and you’re off. Before I could fly out I had to go back to Nyanga to pick up some information, drop off some information and have a meeting, which I was able to do in 24 hours. So Sunday morning I caught the red eye (well red eye for me) at 6:45am, I spent Sunday preparing and getting re-acquainted with Lusaka. Zambia is in winter like Zimbabwe but it’s like Victoria in August, it was crazy hot. Monday morning I went and met with Chris a wastewater and biogas engineer. We talked about a design and plan that would include plumbing, wastewater cleaning and re-distribution and turning waste into a biogas to fuel that a generator would use to run the electricity. He took me around and showed me 3 different kinds of systems he had designed, although the technology and idea is the same each project is individually designed. We talked about low flush toilets and motion sensor sinks, he gave me some local company’s to check out for both and by local I mean South Africa. From there I went and saw Trevor, the Solar Aid guy, I wanted him to look at the electrical plan, ask questions and find out what has happened by way of electrical technology in the last month. He was really excited to see me and was pleased with we had come up with. He was able to answer all my questions and asked me if I wanted a job! He needed someone to do design and research. From there he took me to meet a solar electrical distributer and we learned about the latest in solar and environmental lighting. The latest lights are 3 watts and ¼ amp. They last 50,000 hours where if you run them 12 hours a day it lasts 11 years. I was a bit skeptical about this so I did some research and it’s all true! So he is sending me the specifications so I can pick my electrical. Trevor wanted me to stay an extra day to do some more showing around including the environmental, sustainable house he and his wife built but I had a plane to catch. I was back in Zimbabwe the following evening, spending a total of 36 hours in country. Back in Harare I had a day and a half to meet with the Electrical Engineer to finalize the plans, find someone who had the codes I was looking for AND to meet with the Mechanical Engineering 4^th years students and their dean. We discussed more ideas, I had some of my questions answered and they are now working on a plan with their dean, myself and another professor supervising. So I’ll meet with them again in 2 weeks to see what the design looks like. My biggest headache was finding someone, anyone who could give me access or had the codes that I needed for some follow-up work. The building bylaws for Zimbabwe follow the British Building Standards, the Central Africa Standards and the South African Building Standards. I went to the Institute of Engineers, they sent me to the Construction Institute, who sent me to the Institute of Architects, who sent me to the Zimbabwe Standards Association who sent me to their head office and… they had the codes. However it wasn’t as easy as I thought, this included looking through catalogues for each standard, picking out the ones I wanted writing them on a form where someone would find them for me. It’s like a library BUT you pay for each book you take out and you are charged based on the number of pages in the book. Some standards you can buy but I thought I’d rent some first and see what I could find. I am now back in Nyanga and have a “to do” list as long as my arm. This morning I took soil samples from the site to take into Harare to have them tested. I was given 3 people to help me and by help me I mean they did all the hard labour and I just supervised. We took 8 samples, 4 locations at 2 different depths.

Sorry it’s been a while since I last updated on what’s going on, things have been very busy!!! After coming back from Zambia I had a lot of work to do. I had to draw an electrical plan based on what I had discussed with Solar Aid. I needed to research alternative materials for roofing tile compared to what Zambia was using, so instead of using red oxide, which costs a bomb using limestone to make it green or crushed gravel to make it a grey colour and then making the roof a green roof with grass. As well as finding out more information about the Biogas and Waste water system and how that could be incorporated into the project and IF it could be incorporated into the project. There was a lot of research I had to do because I was a bit out of my depth. I have never been in charge of all the aspects of the plans like electrical, plumbing, sewage, etc. I never realized that before you can draw the foundations you have to have all these other things planned and in place. This was frustrating to me because I didn’t feel like I was getting anywhere that I hadn’t put anything on paper. So a million emails, hours of research and much frustration I had a plan, which included a trip back to Zambia, I had it all worked out for the end of June but then…one of my contacts in Zambia, the man I needed to see is leaving for Germany for 6 weeks on the 19^th of June. That totally shot my plan out the window. So I had to re-think and find out did I have the time and resources to go back to Zambia in such a sort space of time, would I be able to get it all done. I didn’t have an electrical plan drawn out…I didn’t have an electrician! So I was thinking that maybe this all wasn’t going to work, and then I went to Harare for the monthly AIDS clinic and I ran into a friend. He asked me how I was doing and I explained my situation and he said the best sentence I ever heard “Did you forget I’m an electrical engineer” Music to my ears!! So we sat down and drew a plan so I could take the plan with me to Zambia and meet with Solar Aid and meet with the Biogas and Waste Water guy. BOO YAAA. So now I had to plan the trip and it actually came up at a good time because my visa has to be renewed by June 13^th. Due to time restraints and previous experience I decided to fly to Zambia (I just finished having my car fixed in Harare so it’s running like new, but that’s another blog). So I was able to get a ticket to fly on Sunday morning 6:45am (yuck!) and come back Monday (that’s right the next day) at 9pm. So 36 hours in Zambia to do what I need to do, no diddling around. While this is all going on I met a volunteer at the AIDS clinic, a student in mechanical engineering who is doing his final project on electromagnetic boiler systems for industrial use. This really means using electricity to clean and heat water for a hot water heater. As he was talking about this the hamster in my brain started running on her wheel and the light came on, is it possible that this electricity could also cool water? Could it be used to power the movement of air through a building? How much electricity would it take? How much fuel would it take if the power goes out? Well WHEN the power goes out? What if we could apply this system to an HVAC system (heating, ventilation and air conditioning). Part of the project is to build a prototype. So after asking my questions and thinking I thought it’s crazy enough it just might work. So I made an appointment to meet his team at the university and talk it out. While I was there I met the Chairman of the department, after a chat, he offered me a teaching job, teaching “Strength and Materials” to second year students. It was a lovely thought but when would I have time to teach? The project has to be approved and the prototype work to pass and it was the condition that I made if it was to be used for the project. The project is to be handed in at the end of the month and approved by the Chairman by the end of July when they graduate, which actually works out pretty good timing wise. So another section well on it’s way. My next big headache is plumbing. Any suggestions? This has been a HUGE learning experience for me and I’m loving every minute of it, even though at times it’s stressful, I’ve met some fantastic, brilliant people and learning about all sorts of new technology.

Winter has arrived in Zimababwe!! I never thought I’d get cold in Africa but here I am thinking I should’ve brought a nice Irish wool sweater!!! Oh well, hindsight is a beautiful thing. So I am held up in my house, working hard, planning designs, drawing out plans and calculating loads. Reading through a million different books and trying to get everything to work together my desk has never looked better an organized mess. When construction starts we’ll be building in the winter, good thing I went to university in Calgary where I was surveying in - 40° weather with snow, which will make this a cakewalk. I miss that if I need drafting supplies I can walk or drive 10 minutes from home and buy what I need, here in Africa I have to plan to drive 3 hours to Harare or if I’m lucky I can get what I need in Mutare (1 to 1.5 hours) away. Sometimes Mutare gets the supplies but sometimes (more often than not) they don’t.

Today is my first experience of “load sharing”. Instead of ZESA cutting everyone off, they just limit the power everyone gets. For instance some lights don’t work and others are dull, the fridge works but the cooker works much slower and you have to put it on full to get it to work at all. Water in the kettle boils but it takes more than twice as long, computers work but the use your battery as well as the power. I find this worse than no power. At least I know without power that I have so much time on my computer or I have to use the gas to cook or boil water or use candles or my solar lamp. But with load sharing some things work and some don’t and you have to go around testing lights and things to find out when full power has come back on. This also is frustrating because some amenities in town work and some don’t. Government facilities aren’t open because they want full power, the gas station is running but only some of the pumps and part of the station work. Most places act like there is no power because it means that they don’t have to work. I thought this would be ok but I find I’m more frustrated trying to find out what works and what doesn’t that I would just rather have no power.

Today I had my first experience (I’ve had a few this week) of a bat in the house. In the roof, we had a bat that got out through a hole. It was flying around the veranda, the dog went nuts and we tried to coax it out the front door. I have never seen a bat up-close nor did I think they lived in Zimbabwe (you learn something new everyday). The event ended by the bat flying out the front door, but it may end up that we have another pet.

Anyone know a good electrician who knows about solar electricity? Or anyone who can tell me how to make a biogas wastewater system flow into and be a part of electricity? I’m stuck!!!! Thankfully I have help even if they are in Zambia, it looks like I’ll be taking another trip to Zambia sooner rather than later (maybe this time I should fly). BUT after 2 days with no ZESA I got some major email feedback and it’s all good news, sometimes people are just fantastic and I could kiss them all (but I won’t). SO I just might be able to pull this off.

On a different note, I read in the paper yesterday that Zimbabwe is going to send electricity to South Africa for the World Cup. Yes you heard me right, Zimbabwe, where our electricity is rough at best is going to be sent to South Africa so that people can watch soccer! Please explain this to me??

So today I met with the Engineer Officer for the Nyanga Council. The reason for this meet was to ask him about surveying the site. The map I was given by the office is less than desirable and didn’t really tell me anything. So I asked if either they could survey the site OR give me the equipment to let me survey the site. He was more than happy to have me survey the site (and a few others) and he would give me the equipment. I met with his staff member in charge of surveying and he showed me the equipment. It looks like it’s from the 60’s or 70’s but luckily other than a computer screen and buttons not much has changed. So he loaned me a worker and off we go to survey the site. I had drawn out the points (28 in all) that needed to be done, which also included the existing building which had never been surveyed (which explains why the foundation has cracked down 2 walls and the floor has separated). So at 2pm this afternoon, I went and picked up the equipment and took it to the site with 2 helpers and Willie (my colleague and local support). I set up my equipment and looked through the lens and … the equipment was off, and not just a little bit but WAY OFF. So we started surveying the existing building and it was harder than I thought it would be, and also my eyes just wouldn’t focus, so between the 4 of us, we scrambled through and finished!!! After this was complete, Willie said “My GPS has geodetic elevations on it, we can put it at each corner and check the work”. So I’m going to use this as my back up and hopefully between the 2 we won’t be far out. I know this doesn’t sound very technical or precise but TIA. The 2 staff the council loaned me thought I was a genius (and I’m not going to tell them otherwise). So this was a big step in the project and the drawings can now go to council for approval. Day 2 of surveying was all calculations. I want to ask a question to anyone reading this, why would contour maps and elevations in a country that is metric, that was “owned” by a metric country and has never been an Imperial country use Imperial heights for elevations??? It makes things complicated AND means that I had to do calculations twice after realizing I made a HUGE mistake and did everything metric. This also means that the drawings will be in metric AND imperial so that no one gets confused. Maybe they had an American come to Nyanga and survey the entire area and then leave and no one bothered to check the work. This also means that the site plan has become a mess of numbers that on one but me is going to be able to read! Between the drawing and the math my brain has packed it in and some changes to the site plan needed to be made. Now I’m starting all the engineering drawings, which I’m expecting to be really exciting, stressful and I’m probably going to want to pick up a drinking habit more than once during this process but it’ll be a good learning experience and that’s what it’s all about right?!

Just when I thought my car adventures were over…I left for Zambia and I was feeling pretty good about it, my tires were checked, the headlights were working and it was running fabulously. Things were going great until we got to the Chirundu border. First off the border crossing is a maze of gates and buildings that don’t do anything. So you park the car, go through the Zimbabwe side where you talk to the customs about why you’re going, where you are going, blah, blah, blah. Then you go to Interpol Zimbabwe where I filled out a form about my car and they stamped the form. Then I went to the Zambian side where customs were asking me all about Canada and why a nice girl like me is in Zimbabwe. I paid for my visa and then walked on to Zambian Interpol to check in my car. The Zambian officer went out to check my car’s engine and chassis numbers to make sure they matched what Zimbabwe Police in Harare had written on my international clearance. He was checking the chassis number as saw that the police had only written the last 6 digits of the number instead of the whole number, which is about 20 numbers and letters long. The Zambian police told me he wasn’t allowed to pass my car. I couldn’t believe it, I was going to have to drive back to Harare and ask the police to do their job. I went back to the Interpol Zimbabwe and talked to the officer there, he was embarrassed because he was suppose to go and check the car as well but had just stamped the form thinking that Harare Police had done their job. So we was worried what to do, he took me from office to office talking to all sorts of people and finally we agreed he would write an amendment to the form and correct the mistake and when I got back to Harare would fill out a form and have the police change all my car paperwork. Interpol Zambia was reluctant but felt sorry for the foreign white girl and stamped the form and let me through. I thought that was it, that was my incident in Zambia BUT I was wrong. The roads in Zambia make the potholes in Zimbabwe look like brand new roads. So I was trying to be cautious because my car isn’t a F150. I was driving along minding my own business when a car comes barreling down the road trying to pass a car heading in my lane, he wasn’t going to make it so I slowed down a massive pothole taking up the entire lane, sinking down a few inches was right in front of me and I just couldn’t avoid it, I slowly hit the hole and flattened a tire. Well no big deal, I would just change the tire, BUT my 17mm spanner was stripped to a point where it wouldn’t grab the nut. So I flagged down a car and they were gracious enough to help me out. So I headed back on the road, the car was driving fine BUT it was making a little squeaking noise. When I got out to pay a toll I checked the tires and quickly looked under the car and saw nothing. When I arrived in Lusaka and arrived at my friends house, I asked if she knew a mechanic that could just take a look under the car to make sure it was ok. I took the car in and found out that the whole right side was out of line, that there were parts that needed to be replaced. They were unsure if they had the parts and so they told me they would check around. I thought to myself, ENOUGH! I’m done and also thought to myself the first thing I’m doing when I get back to Canada is to take a mechanic’s course! I want to be able to fix a car myself.

Today, I had an AMAZING day. I met with a man from Washington state who works for Pestazzoli Project. They are an NGO that helps high school students in rural areas get an education. The project is a village where students learn and live both life skills and academic skills. They create their own roof tiles on site, which is why I was visiting the project. When I got out there and was taken around the village I was shown around I saw a Bio Gas and Waste Water Treatment System. This system uses organic materials and human waste to create a fuel or gas and the water from the rain and wastewater used in the village to irrigate and put back into the village and the fuel is used for cooking. This system has helped the village become more self sufficient and environmentally friendly. So tomorrow, I meet with Solar Aid and go to the company that sells the tile press to find out how we can acquire one and send it to Zimbabwe.

Today I met with Solar Aid and it was a good news bad news situation. Bad news is that the project is going to be too big and have too much electrical for solar panels to be effective. Solar panels have a life span of 15-20 years, the batteries and inverters have a life of 4-6 years so replacing them 4 times within the life span of the panels. They suggested putting away $100 USD a month to pay for the replacements. YIKES! So we talked about other suggestions. Using LED lighting having 2 circuits one that powers the building and one that stores power to a back up so when ZESA goes out the second circuit will power some of the building (computers and some lights). It wasn’t my ideal but still environmentally friendly and there will still be power when ZESA goes. The back up can be run off the Bio Gas that I was looking at the day before, which made me happy. So things are coming together. I am now trying to plan, research and draw all this before I forget it and the I’ll go back to Zambia meet with people to look over the work and bounce ideas off of. Everyone was so helpful and wants to keep in contact, Solar Aid would love to do a project like this but trying to find a way to make solar panels an effective way to power the building or how effective will this idea we’ve put together work.

After Solar Aid I spent 2 hours in a REAL bookstore and looked through construction books, novels and just puttered. I started to get the stink eye from the security guard, but he looked happy when I walked out with a book in hand.

Driving back to Harare was thankfully an uneventful trip, my car survived, I avoided the potholes like the plague AND I had no problem with the border. Funnily enough the officer for Interpol Zimbabwe was the same guy I had going and this was the opposite office. He remembered me and signed my paperwork and wished me well and to come back to the border as soon as I could.

I spent a few days in Harare to relax and do some running around, trying to get find someone who can fix my car, unfortunately I’ll have to wait for the parts but I found someone YEAH! So that was my Zambia adventure, I am now back in Nyanga and full of energy to get these ideas into practice.